Users surf the World Wide Web by using web browsers on their personal computers to access web pages and other data that are stored on remote web servers, where the personal computers are connected to the remote web servers via the Internet. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. The World Wide Web comprises a set of inter-linked hypertext documents called web pages.
Content on the Worldwide Web is typically accessed in a client/server model. A “Web browser” of a client computer system sends a request to access content that is provided by a “Web Server” of a server computer system (e.g., by entering a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) into the Web browser). If the user of the Web browser is authorized to access the content, the Web server typically provides the content to the Web browser. In a Web environment, content and requests for content, are frequently transported using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”). Web-based content can be provided in HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”) pages, style sheets, images, scripts, etc.
Most, if not all Web browsers, cache portions of Web-based content in a common storage location (the browser cache) so that subsequent renderings of a Web page can be presented more efficiently. For example, when a Web browser receives a Web page from a Web server, the Web browser can locally cache portions of the content included in the Web page. Thus, if the Web browser is subsequently directed to the same Web page, the Web browser can check the common storage location for cached portions of content and any cached portions of content can be combined with other content received via the network to construct the Web page. Accordingly, using locally cached content potentially reduces the amount of data that is transferred over a network in order to display content from the Web server. As a result, Web pages can be rendered more quickly improving the user experience.
However, typically, even if only a portion of a Web page changes the entire page is reloaded over the network for display on a Web browser. For example it may be that a Web browser accesses a Web page, downloads content of the Web page via network communication, and caches content from the Web page. If the content of the Web page subsequently changes, the Web browser can be required to re-download the entire Web page even if only small portions of the Web page have changed.
Thus more recently, some Web browsers have implemented partial page updates to better utilize cached content. Content is re-downloaded when an applicable portion of a Web page changes. However, a Web browser is not necessarily required to re-download all the content of Web page in response to a change to a portion of the Web page. For example, when a single image in a Web page changes, the Web browser can detect the change and re-download the single image without having to re-download other cached content that has not changed.
Some Web-based applications also permit Web browsers to interact with data from a database (e.g., an SQL database). A Web server receives a request from a Web browser, accesses an appropriate portion of database data, and returns the database data to the Web browser. Depending on the configuration of the Web based application, a user may also be able to change portions of database data through the Web browser. For example, a user may be able to create and modify database records through the Web browser. In some environments, a user is able to implement SQL operations (CREATE TABLE, SELECT, INSET, UPDATE, DELETE, etc.) through a Web browser. Thus, a Web browser essentially provides a user-interface for manipulating database data over a network (e.g., the Internet).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,778,987 (“Hawkins”) discloses a method for caching database data in a web browser. Hawkins discloses that the computer system receives a portion of the database from the Web server. The computer system locally stores the received database portion at the computer system. The locally stored database portion is locally accessible to the Web browser such that data from the locally stored database portion can be locally provided to the Web browser without the data being included in network based communication. The computer system retains an indication that the database portion was received from the specified domain to prevent script code from Web servers in other domains from accessing the database portion.
Hawkins discloses that a computer system renders tabular database data within the Web browser. The computer system sends a Web based request to a Web server in a specified domain indicated by a specified domain name. The Web based request is for accessing a Web page that includes a portion of a database stored in a database accessible to the Web server.
Hawkins discloses that the computer system receives a request from the Web server for access to a locally stored database portion that is stored locally at the computer system. The computer system accesses a stored domain name indicative of a domain that previously sent the locally stored database portion to the computer system. The computer system compares the specified domain name to the stored domain name. The computer system determines that the specified domain name and the stored domain name are sufficiently similar to allow responses from the Web server to include database data from the locally stored database portion. The computer system includes data from the locally stored database portion in a Web based response to the Web based request based on the determination. The computer system presents the Web based response including the data from the locally stored database portion at the Web browser.
However, current methods do not allow for the management or modification, by the web server, of the data in the database portion at the computer system. It may be desirable for the web server to be able to manage or modify data in the database portion on the computer system. No current methods allow for the web server to manage or modify data in the database portion on the computer system. One problem is that the web server is remote from the computer system. A second problem is that the web server must communicate the desired management or modification to the computer system. A third problem is that the web server must coordinate its management or modification with the computer system. A fourth problem is how to specify the management or modification that is requested by the web server. Solving these problems enables improvements in the design, functionality, and efficiency of web pages and other content served from web servers.